Liz Phair, PJ Harvey, and the Breeders top the 20th (or 21st) Annual Music Critics’ Poll
The 1993 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll
Albums
| 1. | Liz Phair: Exile in Guyville (Matador) | 1383 | (108) | |
| 2. | Nirvana: In Utero (DGC) | 1106 | (91) | |
| 3. | PJ Harvey: Rid of Me (Island) | 708 | (63) | |
| 4. | The Breeders: Last Splash (4AD/Elektra) | 607 | (59) | |
| 5. | Pet Shop Boys: Very (EMI) | 538 | (34) | |
| 6. | Dr. Dre: The Chronic (Interscope) | 524 | (47) | * |
| 7. | Jimmie Dale Gilmore: Spinning Around the Sun (Elektra) | 427 | (39) | |
| 8. | De La Soul: Buhloone Mindstate (Tommy Boy) | 396 | (35) | |
| 9. | U2: Zooropa (Island) | 390 | (41) | |
| 10. | Digable Planets: Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) (Pendulum) | 358 | (43) | |
| 11. | Smashing Pumpkins: Siamese Dream (Virgin) | 330 | (32) | |
| 12. | P.M. Dawn: The Bliss Album . . . ? (Gee Street) | 325 | (29) | |
| 13. | Paul Westerberg: 14 Songs (Sire/Reprise) | 299 | (36) | |
| 14. | Pearl Jam: Vs. (Epic Associated) | 298 | (32) | |
| 15. | Bettie Serveert: Palomine (Matador) | 289 | (26) | * |
| 16. | Urge Overkill: Saturation (Geffen) | 275 | (29) | |
| 17. | The Afghan Whigs: Gentlemen (Elektra) | 260 | (24) | |
| 18. | American Music Club: Mercury (Reprise) | 255 | (24) | |
| 19. | Tony Toni Toné: Sons of Soul (Wing) | 254 | (23) | |
| 20. | Yo La Tengo: Painful (Matador) | 243 | (24) | |
| 21. | A Tribe Called Quest: Midnight Marauders (Jive) | 231 | (20) | |
| 22. | Willie Nelson: Across the Borderline (Columbia) | 215 | (20) | |
| 23. | Bob Dylan: World Gone Wrong (Columbia) | 209 | (24) | |
| 24. | Stereolab: Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements (Elektra) | 204 | (19) | |
| 25. | Jane Siberry: When I Was a Boy (Reprise) | 193 | (17) | |
| 26. | Dwight Yoakam: This Time (Reprise) | 192 | (26) | |
| 27. | Me’Shell NdegéOcello: Plantation Lullabies (Maverick/Sire/Reprise) | 188 | (19) | |
| 28. | Uncle Tupelo: Anodyne (Sire/Reprise) | 186 | (18) | |
| 29. | Cypress Hill: Black Sunday (Ruffhouse/Columbia) | 184 | (18) | |
| 30. | Terence Trent D’Arby: Symphony or Damn (Columbia) | 182 | (21) | |
| 31. | Sade: Love Deluxe (Epic) | 181 | (19) | * |
| 32. | Arthur Alexander: Lonely Just Like Me (Elektra Nonesuch/American Explorer Series) | 178 | (17) | |
| 33. | Aimee Mann: Whatever (Imago) | 175 | (18) | |
| 34. | Cassandra Wilson: Blue Light ‘Til Dawn (Blue Note) | 170 | (15) | |
| 35. | PJ Harvey: 4-Track Demos (Island) | 169 | (16) | |
| 36. | Rosanne Cash: The Wheel (Columbia) | 167 | (15) | |
| 37. | Belly: Star (Sire/Reprise) | 165 | (16) | |
| 38. | John Hiatt: Perfectly Good Guitar (A&M) | 162 | (15) | |
| Shaver: Tramp on Your Street (Zoo/Praxis International) | 162 | (15) | ||
| 40. | Dinosaur Jr.: Where You Been (Sire/Warner Bros.) | 157 | (19) |
This poll compiles ballots from 308 critics, who divided 100 points among 10 1993 albums. Points determined placement, with total mentions (indicated in parentheses) used for tie-breaking. Maximum per album: 30. Minimum: 5.
*Includes 1992 votes: Dr. Dre 10 (1), Bettie Serveert 40 (4), Sade 91 (10).
Singles
| 1. | The Breeders: “Cannonball” (4AD/Elektra) | 78 | |
| 2. | Digable Planets: “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” (Pendulum) | 50 | |
| Nirvana: “Heart-Shaped Box” (DGC) | 50 | ||
| 4. | Dr. Dre: “Nuthin’ but a `G’ Thang” (Interscope) | 44 | |
| 5. | Salt-n-Pepa: “Shoop” (Next Plateau) | 32 | |
| 6. | Radiohead: “Creep” (Capitol) | 29 | |
| Soul Asylum: “Runaway Train” (Columbia) | 29 | ||
| 8. | The Juliana Hatfield 3: “My Sister” (Mammoth/Atlantic) | 27 | |
| 9. | Urge Overkill: “Sister Havana” (Geffen) | 26 | |
| 10. | Ice Cube: “It Was a Good Day”/”Check Yo Self” (Priority) | 23 | |
| Tony Toni Toné: “If I Had No Loot” (Wing) | 23 | ||
| 12. | US3: “Cantaloop” (Blue Note) | 22 | |
| 13. | Janet Jackson: “That’s the Way Love Goes” (Virgin) | 20 | |
| Naughty by Nature: “Hip Hop Hooray” (Tommy Boy) | 20 | ||
| Shaggy: “Oh Carolina” (Virgin) | 20 | ||
| 16. | Cypress Hill: “Insane in the Brain” (Ruffhouse/Columbia) | 19 | |
| Porno for Pyros: “Pets” (Warner Bros.) | 19 | ||
| 18. | Robin S: “Show Me Love” (Big Beat/Atlantic) | 18 | |
| 19. | Belly: “Feed the Tree” (Sire/Reprise) | 17 | |
| R.E.M.: “Man on the Moon” (Warner Bros.) | 17 | ||
| 21. | Gin Blossoms: “Hey Jealousy” (A&M) | 15 | |
| Pet Shop Boys: “Go West” (EMI) | 15 | ||
| RuPaul: “Supermodel” (Tommy Boy) | 15 | * | |
| 24. | Tag Team: “Whoomp! There It Is” (Life) | 13 | |
| Janet Jackson: “If” (Virgin) | 13 | ||
| Snow: “Informer” (EastWest) | 13 | ||
| R.E.M.: “Everybody Hurts” (Warner Bros.) | 13 |
*Includes 1992 votes: 5.
EPs
| 1. | Luscious Jackson: In Search of Manny (Grand Royal) | 31 |
| 2. | Sugar: Beaster (Rykodisc) | 24 |
| 3. | Moby: Move (Elektra) | 20 |
| 4. | Heavenly: P.U.N.K. Girl (K) | 16 |
| 5. | Jeff Buckley: Live at Siné (Columbia) | 11 |
| Freedy Johnston: Unlucky (Bar/None) | 11 | |
| 7. | En Vogue: Runaway Love (Atlantic) | 10 |
| 8. | The Shams: Sedusia (Matador) | 8 |
| Versus: Let’s Electrify (Remora) | 8 | |
| 10. | Babes in Toyland: Painkillers (Reprise) | 7 |
Reissues
| 1. | The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations (Capitol) | 42 |
| 2. | Elvis Costello: 2½ Years (Rykodisc) | 34 |
| Otis Redding: Otis! (Rhino) | 34 | |
| 4. | Ornette Coleman: Beauty Is a Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (Atlantic) | 33 |
| 5. | Richard Thompson: The History of Richard Thompson: Watching the Dark (Hannibal) | 30 |
| 6. | Tougher Than Tough: The Story of Jamaican Music (Mango) | 29 |
| 7. | Janis Joplin: Janis (Columbia/Legacy) | 25 |
| 8. | Prince: The Hits/The B-Sides (Paisley Park/Warner Bros.) | 23 |
| 9. | Moby Grape: Vintage (Columbia/Legacy) | 19 |
| 10. | John Prine: The John Prine Anthology: Great Days (Rhino) | 16 |
Videos
| 1. | Nirvana: “Heart-Shaped Box” (Anton Corbijn) | 34 |
| 2. | Bjork: “Human Behavior” (Michelle Gondry) | 32 |
| 3. | R.E.M.: “Everybody Hurts” (Jake Scott) | 28 |
| 4. | The Breeders: “Cannonball” (Kim Gordon and Spike Jonze) | 21 |
| U2: “Numb” (Kevin Godley) | 21 | |
| 6. | R.E.M.: “Man on the Moon” (Peter Care) | 19 |
| 7. | Soul Asylum: “Runaway Train” (Tony Kaye) | 18 |
| 8. | Beavis and Butt-head Featuring Cher: “I Got You Babe” (Tamra Davis) | 15 |
| Blind Melon: “No Rain” (Sam Bayer) | 15 | |
| 10. | Aerosmith: “Crying” (Marty Callner) | 12 |
Village Voice, Mar. 1, 1994